“Not in the still-room, not hidden away in some obscure part of the house, but with me.”
He felt the sudden movement of Pandora’s fingers as they fluttered in his, and now she was holding on to him, afraid that what she had heard was untrue or else she had misunderstood his meaning.
“If we are to live here together,” the Earl went on, “it will certainly give Lindchester too much to talk about, unless you make an effort to bring an air of respectability to Chart Hall.”
Pandora’s eyes were still held by his. “H-how – could I – do that?”
The words were hardly audible, but he heard them.
“Do I have to spell it out?” he questioned. “But of course! Every woman is entitled to the full drama of a proposal of marriage.”
He saw the startled, astonished expression on Pandora’s face and said ver
